I [kinda] need a housekeeper [and 14 weeks].

So, JJ's with my my mom this weekend, and I have to report for a work function in a couple of hours. Instead of sleeping in or lazing around, I'm up. Washing clothes and doing dishes.

I seriously need some sort of help around here.

My apartment is literally in shambles all week because a.) I just don't have the energy to get things done after work, and 2.) my nausea kicks in around the time JJ goes to bed, and I'm worthless after that. Now, granted, it's getting a lot better, and I hope to be on the second tri energy kick soon [because i also need to start working out again, holy cow]. But for now, my apartment is just a mess. Counters aren't wiped down, I need to dust, my closets look awful and need to be reorganized...blah. Anyone want to come help me clean? :P

I think my issue is I look at my apartment as a whole and get overwhelmed. My apartment really isn't that big [about 1100 sf.], but I have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, four sets of closets, a living room and a kitchen to keep clean. When I don't get it done in chunks, I have to spend the entire weekend cleaning it all, and it makes me want to throw things. I just need to sit down, figure out what storage needs are missing, and get organized. I did get this super cool storage thing for wallpaper the other day:

It's the Honey-Can-Do wrapping paper storage system. It's pretty awesome, too. It fit a good dozen rolls of wrapping paper, most of the bows I have and three sets of boxes. It slips under my bed, is easy to open/close and is super sturdy. I thought about getting another one to store all my seasonal decorations in, but we'll see. I hope to find more storage solutions like this so I can finally get this place organized. Next up: figuring out how to store my sheets. Yeesh.

So anyway. If anyone has any tips for cleaning, storing etc., I'm all ears. I need to sit down one weekend and dig through my entire apartment, then start throwing things out I don't need [or donating them]. I just feel the clutter starting to take over, and I want to nip it in the bud before it becomes too much, ya know? I feel like I need a professional to come over and show me some ways to store things. Ha.

Anyway. Time for a new poll - 14 weeks. :)

14 weeks, 2 days.
Total weight gain: Uh...I don't know. Still. Scale steppin' on Monday morning - hope the weight doesn't ruin my day.
Maternity clothes?: Yup - just about full time. Both pairs of maternity jeans are now out, and I'll wear maternity shorts for the first time today. I'm also in the process of washing all my maternity clothes from last time - I think the time of my normal clothes are behind me for a bit. Fun clothes news though: I FINALLY got a pair of maternity work pants that are long enough for me to wear. YAY!
Sleep: Better. Thursday night was awful, but most of the week was good. I slept with my Snoogle last night and literally slept the entire night. I love it.
Best moment this week: My surprise party my sister threw me on Wednesday was fantastic. Like, super fantastic. Happy 26 to me!
Food cravings: Nothing this week. But I haven't really had any aversions to food, either, which is nice.
Gender: Still have to wait another six weeks. [note: i think once i find out, i'm totally deleting this question; i already deleted the labor signs question that normally comes after that]
Belly Button in or out? In. Like, all the way in. It's not going anywhere.
What I miss: Not gonna lie - wine.
What I am looking forward to: My next OB appointment is Monday. I'm excited and nervous, all at once.
Weekly Wisdom: Friends make the world go 'round.
Milestones: Baby's the size of a lemon. AND, I'm also positive I felt the baby move this week. It's so weird and so cool.
Differences between #1 & #2: I definitely did not feel JJ move this early the last time. Then again, I also wasn't this big at this point last time, either. I'm still not sure if what I'm feeling all the time is baby movement, but the more I feel the movements, the more confident I am that it's the baby. I think I'll feel better about it once I hear the heartbeat again on Monday.

Most fabulous birthday EVAR.

So. I'm 26 now. Or, as I kept saying on my birthday, 16+10. I'm still not quite sure how 26 rolled around so fast, but that's a different story for a different day. I thought my birthday would be just another day, but let me tell ya...it wasn't.

My day started at 10:30pm the night before, when my husband called to wish me a Happy Birthday [he's like, 10 hours ahead of me or something like that, so he called before his shift]. I hadn't talked to him in a few days, so it was so great to get that call. On my birthday, my sister calling at like, 7:20am yelling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" into the phone as loud as she could. Good thing I was already awake! Then, my yearly "Happy Birthday" song calls from my parents came - my dad was able to call, too, even though he's traveling right now. I love the yearly birthday songs from my parents.

Then, I headed to the dentist. Yes - I was the silly girl who scheduled her 6-month dental visit on her birthday, but I'm glad I did now, because I had a super awesome cleaning [and no cavities! yay!]. I went back to work and was greeted by a bouquet of flowers that my parents and sister sent me. They're so stinkin' pretty.

Preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty...

Rest of the day was pretty quiet. My phone kept going off from all the FB and Twitter love I was being shown, which was awesome. It always makes me feel special when people remember my birthday. After work, I picked up little man and decided to take him to the park. My sister and I had made plans to meet up at Chili's for dinner, so the original game plan was for me to take JJ to Panera, get him fed, then meet her at Chili's. Well...we went to the park instead.

He loves the swings! He pretends to fly like an airplane.

If he could have a slide everywhere he goes, he'd be one happy kid all the time.

I swear, I get the best pictures of him at the park because he's truly at his happiest when he's playing. We were there for a good 30 minutes, running around and playing. It was a beautiful day out, and we had so much fun. My sister called right as we were leaving for Chili's to let us know she was in town, so we headed that way. She met us in the parking lot, and I put on this ridiculous birthday crown and SpongeBob birthday badge thing before I walked in.

Then...SURPRISE!

Ten of the coolest people in my world had gathered to throw me a surprise birthday party; eight of them [not including my sister] had driven up from OKC. I still get chills thinking about the moment I saw them sitting at this long-ass table in the middle of Chili's...I totally broke down and started crying. I was not expecting this, AT ALL, and it was just...yeah. It's overwhelming to see that many people take the time out of the middle of their week to celebrate your birthday, especially since most of them don't even live within an hour of me. I am so, so incredibly blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

We spent the next couple of hours talking, eating, laughing and entertaining my son [who did surprisingly well, considering we spent two hours at a restaurant he's never been to before], then everyone came back to my place and watched a movie before heading their separate ways. My sister got one group picture of us before everyone headed out - I totally plan on getting this framed.

Don't mind D's 112 boy band pose.

If you notice in the picture, I am wearing a pillow. Yes - my sister got me a Snoogle. On my Bump Month Board, I've seen several women talking about this body pillow and had asked for one for my birthday [but had said I just wanted a body pillow; didn't need to be a Snoogle necessarily]. I think I carried that pillow around like a security blanket for most of the night; it's so wonderful. Best.Present.Ever.

To Jennifer, Ebony, Elliott, Steve, Brondalyn, Mo, Niecy, JoJo, Davod and D - thank you all so, so much for making 26 a very special day for me. I'm overwhelmed - still! - that you all made it and am so lucky to call you some of my closest friends.

And to my sister, the mastermind behind all this - you are absolutely incredible. Thank you for being a wonderful sister and for pulling off one of the biggest surprises of my life. I love you sissy!

This past birthday was by far one of the most memorable ones to date. Thank to everyone who took the time out to call, text, FB or come around to make 26 a birthday I won't forget. This year has definitely gotten off to a great start, and I know it will only continue to get better.

Yay 26!

So long 25.

I'm not quite sure where the last year of my life has gone. I'm not quite sure how it flew by so fast. But tomorrow will begin the last five years of my 20s. I will officially be closer to 30 than 20, and that's exciting and depressing, all at once.

The older I get, the more I see 30 staring me down. Growing up, I always heard how 30 was the end of your youth, that you started to go downhill after that. Sure, it may be harder to have kids after you turn 30, but nowadays, I feel like 30 is the new 20. At the same time, it'd be naive of me to say that 30 will mean I'll be just like a 20-year-old again, and I won't be; those days are long gone now. I think I'm starting to truly feel old because a lot of things are behind me now. My 10-year high school reunion will be in two years, I graduated from college four years ago in May, I have a 3-year-old and another on the way, I've been married for 3 years...a lot of my big milestones are behind me now. Doesn't mean a lot more aren't ahead of me [like moving to a new place, buying a house, buying a new car etc.], but still. A lot of the "big changes" have already happened.

I will, however, say that 25 was a decently good year. Considering I started the year saying good-bye to my dad's dad, it wound up being a pretty good year after all. I think for the first time ever, I actually felt my age - I didn't say I acted it all the time, but I actually felt I should be right where I was. Ever since I had JJ, I always felt older than I was because I had him decently young [I was 22 when he was born]. Now that he's older, both J and I have stable careers and we're making more adult moves [new car, new digs etc.], I feel my age instead of just pretending to be my age.

A few things happened during the past year:

1. Gallbladder went bye-bye.
2. I went to Vegas for the third time - hell yeah!
3. OSU had the best.football.season.EVAR. [and yes, that was a shining moment for me - after being a fan for eight years and seeing the best and worst, this was the icing on the cake]
4. I got to spend extended time with J for the first time since he joined the Air Force. That was super, super nice. AND, he was home for Christmas and New Year's! Woo!
5. Found out I was pregnant again. That was the highlight of this past year, by far. :)

And I have more to look forward to:

1. Going to NYC for the first time to visit my awesome college roommate.
2. J and my dad will come home from Afghanistan!
3. Baby no. 2 will join our family, and I cannot WAIT.
4. A move may be in our future...?
5. My kiddo will turn four. FOUR. Where has the time gone?!

It's hard to believe that I'm at the point in my life where 30 is more realistic than 20, where kids graduating from high school this year were born when I was in elementary school, where all-nighters only happen when JJ isn't feeling well or can't sleep...but I honestly love my life. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am so incredibly blessed to have everything that I have, to have a wonderful husband and amazing son, to have a great family that is still there for me whenever I need them [whether I acknowledge I need them or not], to have lifelong friends that are just as awesome now as they were when we first became friends years ago - I just love where my life has gone. Six years ago, I wouldn't have imagined my life to be like this. Today, I'm not sure how I imagined my life any other way.

So, here's to you 25. You were fantastic. Let's hope 26 is just as, if not more, fantastic.

One of my fave pictures of me and JJ from year no. 25. Let's see what 26 brings!

 

13 weeks.

Well hey hey - look at me. Multiple blog posts in the span of a few days! Not sure that's ever happened before. :P

I'm 13 weeks, 4 days today - which means second trimester is here!. I THINK second tri is here, but I've seen sites that say 13w1d = second tri, and some sites say that 14w1d = second tri. Oh well. I'm going with the 13w1d mark, which means I'm a few days into second tri.Time is starting to fly!

I have a confession to make. My son spent almost all of last week with my mom so that I could get things done around my apartment. I had three uninterrupted nights to myself [well, 2.5 since I had people over on Tuesday] to do things: clean, do laundry, pack up etc. But what did I do?

I slept. Literally.

Last Monday, I got home at 5:30, fell asleep at 6:30, woke up at 11 to eat and went back to bed from midnight to 7:40am [i was totally late to work the next day, btw, since i slept through my alarm].

On Tuesday, I took myself out to dinner, had friends over, was in bed by 9:00 and slept until 7:30 the next morning [wasn't late that morning - not sure how that happened].

On Wednesday, I got home at 5:20, ate dinner, napped from 6-8:30, was up until 11 and went back to bed until 7:15 this morning. I went to Lawton Thursday and spent Friday/Saturday nights in Dallas, so those nights don't count since I was up with him. I did, however, get a ton of sleep while it was just me.

I haven't slept that much in AGES. I spent every lunch break last week getting things done - and can thank a two-hour lunch break on Wednesday for helping me get all the laundry, dishes and straightening up done - but I wasn't nearly as productive as I should've been. Oh well. Mama needs her sleep too, right? I did get the major things done, which is good; sheets are washed, we both have clean clothes, and the kitchen's cleaned. I hope to go room by room over the next few days and do some spring cleaning.

In other news, President Obama was in Cushing last week to talk about a major pipeline coming to the area. Cushing's only like, 30 minutes away from me, which is the closest I've ever been to the President ever. I wish I could've gone to see him speak, but the speech was invite only, so I wasn't about to drive out there to NOT see him. I still think it's neat that he came here to talk about an issue that directly affects them and, in the grand scheme of things, affects us all.

To be quite honest, I don't know a lot about politics. I pay enough attention to make a semi-informed decision on things of national importance [especially when it comes to military things because those directly affect J and my dad], but I am by no means an educated political person. However, the lack of respect that many people [including our own state officials] showed when President Obama was here was completely out of line. I wasn't a fan of President Bush but never disrespected his office or his role in leading this country. I still believe he did as good of a job as he can, given a national disaster happened on his watch that no one saw coming. A lot of Oklahomans showed how classless they can be by degrading President Obama when they don't even have a basis for not liking him. Their excuse is "Well, he's the President and he doesn't know what he's doing even though he should, so I don't like him." SHOW ME what you don't like, and I can respect your opinion. If you're spouting off ish just because others are, that makes you look dumb. He is still the President of the United States, and if you don't have enough class to respect his position as the leader of this country, there's something wrong. No wonder other countries think we're cray.

OK. Stepping off my soapbox now. I think I'll do my weekly quiz before I work myself up into a frenzy.

I need to find a new place to take pictures besides my bathroom...yeesh. Took this at 13w on 3/22.

13 weeks, 4 days.
Total weight gain: No clue. I step on the scale again a week from todfay, and I'm afraid to see the number.
Maternity clothes?: YES. I caved and busted out my maternity work pants last week, and I'm so freaking comfortable. I've been in and out of maternity shirts for a couple of weeks, but a lot of those will become permanent wardrobe staples soon. I'm still wearing pre-maternity jeans, but those are probably going into the closet next.
Sleep: I got some awesome sleep last week [refer to above post]. Yay!
Best moment this week: My wedding anniversary was on Tuesday. I got pretty roses. :)
Food cravings: Besides the root beer, nothing really.
Gender: Still Team "I Have No Clue". I hope to schedule my anatomy scan at my next appointment.
Labor Signs: Not for awhile.
Belly Button in or out? In. I think it'll stay that way, too.
What I miss: Still miss being able to eat whatever I want without paying for it later [usually through acid reflux or heartburn].
What I am looking forward to: By the end of this week, I'll be 26. I love birthdays.
Weekly Wisdom: Others' opinions don't matter. What matters is that you're happy - that's the most important opinion.
Milestones: Baby's the size of a peach. :)
Differences between #1 & #2: I still can't get over how much I'm showing at this point in my pregnancy. I thought busting out the maternity clothes this early was crazy, but nope - not crazy. It's comfortable, and I love it.

Three years.

Three years ago yesterday, J and I made our way to the courthouse and had a JOP marry us. Back then, it wasn't what I really wanted, but I wanted to be married, so we did it. I wasn't quite sure where our new life together would take us, but I was ready for the ride.

Three years later, things are...well...better than I thought they'd be. Our first year of marriage was rough [but when you already have a 3-month-old baby boy in your lives when you get married, a lot of things are already difficult to manage], and our second year was just OK. This past year was great though - like, really, really great. We had a lot of random things happen, but I know everything happened for a reason.

My 3rd year of marriage began with a good-bye, as my husband was supposed to deploy to Italy for six months. That deployment fell through, so we breathed easy for a bit. Then, he got put on orders again a couple of months later - and THAT deployment was canceled. When he went BACK on orders early last fall, we knew this one would stick...and it did. The last three months of our marriage have been spent with J in training, but I know this is what he wants to do, so we've made it work. Throughout the year, we had a lot more ups than downs [I honestly don't really remember the downs], which was nice to experience. We grew as a couple and continued to learn more about one another. Marriage is hard work when you live in two separate states, but we made it work with little issue.

As we begin our 4th year of marriage, I can't even imagine what kinds of things we have coming our way. Between deployment, being pregnant again [and raising our son], a possible move...those things alone have already kept me up at night with stress and worry! I will say, though, that I think J and I are better than ever. I've been with him 7.5 years [so pretty much my entire adult life, since we started dating when I was 18], and we've seen it all: deaths, births, fights, accidents, military etc. I never thought we'd go through all the stuff we've gone through in this short of time, but I truly believe it's made us a better couple and better individuals. We've had to work through a lot to get through here, and let's be honest - there were times when I didn't think we'd make it. After all that though, we're still together. It's an awesome feeling.

Even though J is deployed, he still managed to make our anniversary super special. He sent these to my office:

For a moment, I thought he'd forgotten [I hadn't gotten a card or anything up to this point], so I'll admit it - I was a little miffed. But then these came while I was at work, and I cried. I rushed to get the stems cut and put them in water, and they're blooming beautifully on a bookshelf. He did good this year, even though he's thousands of miles away. :)

Ya know, I hear all these people complain about how long-distance relationships don't work, how both people can't possibly be in love if they don't live with each other. J and I are proof that isn't the case. Yes, being long distance isn't easy - and we've struggled a lot with communicating when we have issues. It's easy to push things aside when you don't have to deal with the person face-to-face, but we've gotten better at that. It has definitely been a team effort [sometimes it's more of a one-sided effort than a team effort], but we've pulled through a lot of things and made our relationship work. I can't wait for the day we're all under one roof, but that's still a few months away. For now, we're making it work this way, and we're happy. I'm happy.

Happy Anniversary to the one man who's been able to put up with me for longer than a few months. After 3 years, 1.25 kids and lots of changes, I still love him as much - if not more - as I did when I became his wife. I love you babe.

Our first picture as a couple - July 2004. Time flies!

End of first trimester blues.

I'm 12 weeks, four days today -- and second trimester starts at 13 weeks, 1 day, so I'll hit second tri on Friday [thank goodness]. This Friday is a big milestone for me because I'll finally start to breathe a little easier when it comes to this pregnancy. The nausea, however, is looking like it'll stick around for a bit.

When I was pregnant with JJ, I had all-day nausea for a good 6-7 weeks [even though it felt longer than that]. I remember it settling in right around finals week and not really going away until near the end of June. This time, the nausea settled in around 6 weeks, and at almost 13 weeks, it's still around. Zofran hasn't helped that much, so I just stopped taking it and am sucking it up at night. I know that crappy food choices makes it worse, so I've stopped eating the fatty stuff [except for the Chick-Fil-A I had for lunch today] and have really tried to push more water and healthy food items. At least I don't feel like I have to throw up every five minutes...those days were around a couple of weeks ago, and that sucked big time.

I've decided that I'm no good at this whole first trimester thing. It's been really hard for me to suck it up and deal with it when I feel like crap. Add in my overactive 3-year-old, and that makes things even more interesting around here. My mom is on spring break this week and has him for the next few days, which I'm grateful for - that allows me to get some sleep and get some cleaning done around here. Well, really, I just want to sleep.

Random food cravings are starting to come and go, even though the thought of food still makes me feel blah after like, 6pm. I had two root beers last week, and I never, EVER drink root beer. I've had this aversion to it for awhile, but that's the only soda I've wanted the past couple of weeks. I'm seriously considering making a drive to A&W sometime this week for a root beer float - that sounds heavenly. [and i know you're supposed to watch your caffeine intake while pregnant...since i stopped drinking coffee, i have a soda or two a week nowadays] I've also had cravings for fruit [that aren't in season], like watermelon - and again, I'm not a big fan of watermelon. I know, who doesn't like watermelon, right?! Well, I normally don't...and I want some. I hope that craving sticks around when watermelons come out in full force this summer.

Today is the last day of winter...how weird that another season has come and gone. This winter was particularly mild in comparison the past two to three winters, which was nice. I will say that I missed seeing snow, but that's OK. Most of the state got a really good soaking today, which is what we needed, so I hope spring brings more of that type of rain [and little tornado activity, please and thank you]. I think we got more rain today than we did during the past 6-7 months combined...been awhile since my phone weather radio app lit up with flood and flash flood warnings. Thanks for the rain weather gods!

Wish me luck as I step in the world of second trimester. I can't believe I'm already near the end of the 1st trimester...holy cow.

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Oh baby!

I've been waiting to write this blog post for ages...but I've been putting it off. I think it's partly nerves and partly lack of energy...but mainly nerves. Putting it in writing makes it so much more real, you know?

Anyway, I'm "out" now to the world, except for my blog, so I figured it's time I come clean.

12 weeks!

I'm pregnant!!!

Yes - semi-surprise baby no. 2 will be here on or around September 27 [heaven willing]. I've known from Week 4 of my pregnancy that I was actually pregnant, which was two months ago...so keeping it a secret for this long has been really, really hard. I suck at keeping secrets, but with so much uncertainty during the first trimester of pregnancy, I wanted to keep my mouth shut as long as possible.

But after my second doctor's appointment at 11 weeks - and after hearing that sweet, sweet sound of my baby's heartbeat - I decided I should either come clean or let my growing baby bump come clean for me. So, my mom took this picture, sent it to family, then I posted it on FB:

Isn't his shirt absolutely adorable? :)

I still can't believe that I'm pregnant. It's this surreal feeling...until the nausea hits again. Then I definitely believe I'm pregnant.Morning sickness started around Week 5, got worse around Week 8 [that's when I went on Zofran as needed] and is still lingering at Week 12. My days have gotten better, but my nights have sucked - between the lack of energy and the nausea, I've had no appetite after 5pm and hit a wall at 7:30pm. My productivity just stops, and I'm on the bed ready to fall out. Poor JJ has been so patient with his sickly-feeling mommy; I just hope this nausea finally starts to fade soon. I also hope my taste buds return to normal soon...nothing really tastes the same, and I really don't have any cravings because of nausea. I can't wait to be able to eat and not feel like crap for the rest of the day.

I find myself stopping to look in the mirror a lot and smiling, not quite sure I believe that another one's on the way. I have all these nerves about it [how will JJ adjust to a sibling? am i really ready to raise two kids? holy crap, by the end of this year, i'll have two kids!], but I'm just so, so excited. My parents are excited, my sister's excited, Joe's super excited...it's such a fun time in my life, and I'm hoping to enjoy every moment of it. Time is already flying, and I don't want this pregnancy to slip by.

Now that I'm out, I actually have something to blog about - yay! I'll be on more often [i hope] to talk about life, mommyhood and the second time around. I've got a little survey to finish out my first blog post about Jelly Bean [JJ's nickname was Peanut until I knew what I was having; this time, it's Jelly Bean]:

12 weeks, 2 days
Total weight gain: I think total has been five pounds.
Maternity clothes? I've been using a maternity band since my bloat bump started at like, Week 6. I'm still in a lot of my regular clothes, but those are becoming way too small nowadays...so I've recently starting buying maternity pants/shirts, and I've started busting out the maternity clothes from the first time around.
Sleep: Well, considering it's after 4am...yeah. Sleep has been hit and miss lately. I usually sleep solid for 4-5 hours, then I'm up and wide awake. I really need a new bed.
Best moment this week: Staying up past 9pm. I seriously never stay up past 9pm anymore...and on Wednesday night, I was up until 11. Not sure I'll see a night that late for a long time!
Food cravings: None so far, to be quite honest. I have random cravings that come and go, but nothing constant. I will say, though, that I really like root beer nowadays - and I usually hate root beer.
Gender: Not sure yet - will find out in 5-6 weeks!
Labor Signs: Yeah...still too early for that.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Being able to eat. I hate my picky palate nowadays.
What I am looking forward to: My wedding anniversary and husband's birthday are both next week. Even though J's deployed, both are special days for me. Oh, and my mom's on spring break next week, so JJ gets to go home and spend time with someone who's actually functioning all day.
Weekly Wisdom: Everything happens for a reason. I keep telling myself that.
Milestones: I'm a week away from second tri! Time is absolutely flying right now.
Differences between #1 & #2: There have been so many so far. With JJ, m/s and nausea didn't really settle in until I was a good 8-9 weeks pregnant. This time, I've been sick and feeling like crap since Week 5, literally. And I never really threw up with him...ha. Not the case this time. I've also had different tastes this time than last time, and I'm definitely showing a heck of a lot sooner with this baby. With JJ, I got away with regular clothes until like, 14 weeks - again, not the case this time.

Oh, and Happy St. Paddy's Day!

The Big Chop.

The last time I cut my hair was like, 2009. JJ was still a baby baby when I chopped my hair last, and I've let it grow since that chop. Over the last few months though, I've gotten really tired of how long it's gotten and how hard it's been to manage it. So, right after the new year, I decided that I wanted to go ahead and cut it. It's not long enough to donate [and my ends are awful anyway, so donating would be pointless], but I still wanted it to be chopped. A few days ago, I called the salon where my sister gets her hair cut and made an appointment for yesterday at noon.

In the days leading up to the cut, I was seriously nervous. I mean, chopping hair isn't an easy thing to do - it's not like you can glue it back on [that's what my hairstylist told me right before the chop]. But once I got in the car and headed to OKC, I knew there was no going back. Well, and I didn't want to go back after battling with my hair for the upteenth time after my morning shower.

Anyway, this awesome woman named Erica cut my hair. I could see the slight fear in her eyes [seriously] when I pulled my hair out of my hair tie and told her I wanted to chop it. I thought she was going to just wash and cut it [which is what has happened the last few times I've cut my hair], but no - she spent 1.5 hours straightening it, which was freaking insane in my book. I didn't mind sitting there that long, because we had some great conversation...but the fact that she stood for 1.5 hours and dealt with my hair was insane. THEN, she still had to cut it and re-straighten it, THEN she had to cut layers in it.

But by the time she was done, I was in hair heaven.

Before [with an instagram filter applied]:

After [again, with an instagram filter applied]:

I haven't had my hair this short in ages - but I love love LOVE it. It's still straight, and I wore it that way today, but I'll wash it out in the morning and see how it looks curly. Right now though, I'm loving it straight. I think I'm going to maintain this look for the next few months, see how it goes...I'm determined to keep my hair happy and healthy this time around. I totes think I look a lot more like my mom now [she just cut her hair super short, too], but my sister doesn't think so. I also don't think she was a big fan of the hair cut. :P

It's been awhile since I've made a change this big, but I'm glad I did it. I feel like a whole new person - refreshed, energized, younger [even though being almost 26 isn't exactly old] and just better. I'll be sure to take a picture and post it once I wash my hair and get it curled.

And there ya go - The Big Chop. I'm so glad it's over, and I'm so glad I did it.

It's March. When did it become March? Ya know, when 2012 started, I was determined to make this year stretch out as long as I possibly could...and yet, the first two months [including the extra leap day!] are completely gone. How are we nearly a quarter of the way through this year already?

I am currently suffering through a head cold, which I hope disappears sooner rather than later. I'm almost done with enrollment advising, which means I've seen a lot of students over the past couple of weeks - and I know some of them have been sick. The random weather changes - rain and cold one minute; sun and warmth the next - aren't helping, either. Oklahoma didn't have any semblance of a winter this year, at all. Considering the past three years, we've had major snow storms hit that have just about shut down the state and made it feel like winter just a little bit, having practically no snow this year has been super weird. I know I shouldn't complain, because snow storms suck when you live in a state that can't handle them, but I'm complaining just a little bit. I wanted at least a little bit of snow dang it. Ah well.

Our little family has had to make an adjustment of sorts lately - husband is now deployed. Having him leave was harder on me than I thought it would be, so I kinda shut down a little in order to adjust...but now that he's been gone for a bit, it's not as hard to handle. I worry all the time, I check the news way too much now, and I wait by the phone to see if he'll call...but I have faith that he will be fine and come home safe sometime this year. I miss him, but I know the time will pass quickly once we get to the home stretch. It's still a little weird, knowing he's not stateside for the time being...

Anyway. February was a little crazy for us, but in a good way. My dad was able to come home for most of the month on R&R, and it was definitely nice to have him around. The family took a weekend trip to Great Wolf Lodge, which was sooooooooo fun [just like it was over Thanksgiving]. This mam treated herself to a spa mani/pedi as a Valentine's Day present to myself, which was so wonderful. I really need to pamper myself more often, because I really don't do it. JJ had a lot of fun swimming and running around the hotel, and my sister and I had fun doing the Magic Quest game with JJ's wand [yes, we're really 12 years old at heart]. I'll have to post pictures once I dig out my camera and upload things.

I wish I had more to report, but as usual, life has just been mellow the past few weeks. Once enrollment advising is over, I hope to get my life back - work has absolutely swamped me since the semester started, and I hope to finally catch up and get things back on track [i haaaaaaaaate being behind]. And, I can admit it - I've kinda been in a funk over J leaving, so I need to snap out of it and get things back in gear. I'll get a good start to that this weekend...I'm chopping off a few inches of hair. I am so excited for my first hair cut in like, 2.5 years, and I'm looking forward to reclaiming my hair and not being irritated over it. Pictures of the chop to come!